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Lent 2026: Second Sunday of Lent

February 28, 2026

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

This Lent, we will be sharing reflections by our Sisters on Ash Wednesday and each of the Sundays of Lent. Our hope is that the fruit of our Sisters’ prayer may bless you as we journey through Lent seeking greater intimacy with Jesus each of the forty days.

This reflection on the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent is written by Sr. Amanda Lucia Maria of the Love of God Hartwell, HMSS.

The Eyes of Faith

As I was praying with the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent, I felt that the Entrance Antiphon and Collect really set the theme for what I was receiving in prayer. The entrance antiphon is from Psalm 27:8-9 “Of you my heart has spoken: seek his face. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me.” The Lord is always looking upon us with love, but often we cannot see His gaze, especially not with our physical eyes. On this side of Heaven we need the eyes of faith in order to see the Lord’s face and recognize His gaze of infinite love that is always upon us. The Collect reinforces the importance of the eyes of faith when in it the Church asks the Lord to give us “spiritual sight made pure” so that “we may rejoice to behold [His] glory.” We need Our Lord to purify our spiritual sight and strengthen our faith so that we can “see” the face and the hand of the Lord in everything even when our physical eyes cannot recognize Him and our human reason cannot quite grasp what exactly He is doing.

Abraham: Faith in Action

In the first reading from Genesis, I was really struck by God’s instruction to Abraham and Abraham’s response. God told Abraham “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you,” and then God gives Abraham the promises of descendants and blessing. The Lord essentially told Abraham to leave behind everything he had every known and walk blindly into the horizon, trusting that the Lord would indeed show him the land God had prepared for him and fulfill all His promises. And the really amazing thing is that, as we are told, “Abram went as the Lord directed him.” Period. Isn’t that wild? How many times do I at least hesitate to give my “yes” until I have all the information? How many times have I become exasperated or frozen because I didn’t fully understand the instructions I was given or I couldn’t tell where a situation was headed? But Abram went. He couldn’t see the promised land with his eyes or even his mind, but with faith he “saw” it in the heart of God. 

Faith to live according to God’s design

St. Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, reminds us that God has a plan for our lives as he did for Abraham’s. St. Paul declares that God “saved us and called us to a holy life.” But he doesn’t stop there; God doesn’t just say “go and be holy” and then leave it to us to figure how we are going to do that. God calls us to be holy “not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus.” God has a design for our holiness and flourishing, and He gives us the grace in Jesus to live it out. We have a little more information than Abraham did, because in Jesus God has revealed that our ultimate goal is Heaven, and Jesus shows us the perfect example of a holy life. However, we are still called to live in faith because the details of God’s design for each of us are still hidden from us much of the time, only revealed little by little. And even Heaven is beyond our sight still–we can’t see it with our eyes, and it can be hard to imagine with our minds. Our Lord calls us daily to set our eyes of faith on Heaven and trust that He will give us the grace to take each new step of faith toward eternal life with Him. 

Glimpses of Glory and Perseverance in Faith

In order to get to the glory of Heaven we, like Jesus, we must go through the cross. The Lord knows how hard that is for us, and sometimes, in His mercy, He moves aside the veil of faith for a moment to show us a glimpse of His glory, the glory that He is preparing for us. This weekend’s Gospel is an account of one such moment–the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration is in Matthew chapter 17, but right before, in chapter 16, we see Jesus predicting His passion for the first time, and Peter’s inability to accept that (Matt 16:21-22). We also see Jesus telling His disciples that “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24). It is at this time that Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain, and they see His glory and hear the Father’s voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” For a moment, they see with their own eyes the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Only Begotten Son of God. For a moment, they are overwhelmingly aware of the presence of God the Father, so much so that they fall to the ground in fear. I think that this glimpse of glory was given to them to increase their faith, to strengthen their faith so that it could survive Jesus’ frightening predictions of His passion, His disconcerting declaration that they must carry their own crosses, and ultimately Jesus’ death itself. Jesus does this for us, too! If we are willing to follow Him up the mountain, when we need it most, Jesus will show us a glimpse of His glory to strengthen our faith. Sometimes He shows us directly, in prayer or through a clear intervention in our lives. Sometimes He shows us through others, when they share “glory stories” of how the Lord has revealed Himself in their lives. The Transfiguration is a gift for all of us, a glimpse of glory that, if we allow it, will strengthen us to persevere to the end in faith. Praise God!

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Lent 2026: First Sunday of Lent

February 21, 2026

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

This Lent, we will be sharing reflections by our Sisters on Ash Wednesday and each of the Sundays of Lent. Our hope is that the fruit of our Sisters’ prayer may bless you as we journey through Lent seeking greater intimacy with Jesus each of the forty days.

This reflection on the readings for the First Sunday of Lent is written by Sr. April Marie Josefina Candelaria, HMSS.

Today in the classroom, where I teach fourth and fifth graders about English, reading, spelling and the Catholic faith, I laid my hand on top of a cactus. You read that right – I laid my hand right on top of a real, needle-covered cactus. And not only did I lay my hand on top of it, I forcibly grabbed ahold of it. Now, that was, if you couldn’t tell, not my intention. The rolling chair behind the big desk that I use was rolled away from the desk. So, like a faithful teacher who wants to practice what she preaches, I was trying to put the chair back in place as I ask all of the students to do whenever they are about to walk away from their desks. I did not, at that moment, recall that the day before, I had reorganized the decorations I kept behind the desk on the window sill. Instead of a spiny, “under-the-sea-like-cactus” (the theme of the classroom is “Underwater”/To the Depths with Christ!”) being in the corner of the sill, it was now directly behind the rolling chair. I think you can understand that, as a person who is used to looking intently at little ones with great frequency to see what they are up to, I did not have my eyes on the “prize”, my target. So, instead of latching onto the top of the thick, padded back of the rolling chair, I quickly wrapped all five fingers and my palm around the top of the spiky cactus and squeezed firmly, exclaiming, “Ouch!” louder than I ever have in a classroom, startling probably most of my students, if not all of them.

A caring little girl quickly asked, “Are you okay, Sister?” I didn’t know how to respond at first – I was so surprised! But, after a moment, I sheepishly replied, “Yes, I am okay. I just accidentally grabbed the cactus instead of the back of this chair. See what I did?” Then I reenacted it for them, and several of them shuddered and uttered, “Ooooo”, and others began praying for my hand. I gingerly pulled a small needle out from my pinky and used the classroom phone to call an administrator to come in so I could wash and bandage a finger. I told her through the intercom, “Would you be able to step in for a minute? I accidentally grabbed a cactus and need to take care of my hand. Beware of the cactus – it’s sharp!” She laughed and promised to follow my directions.

You think that was enough for God to get my attention? After the incident occurred, I felt that it would become the subject of my time of praying with the First Sunday of Lent’s Scripture readings. Yes, believe it or not, the Lord seemed to give me that impression right away. In the afternoon, though, I was leading my children back to class from another location and two small first graders were in front of me. I turned my head to look back at the line – which could’ve used some shaping up, certainly – and smacked right into one of the little girls. She went flying a good three feet ahead and thankfully landed fine and began to laugh really hard. I was, again, so surprised by this and my first reaction was to sputter, “Why did you stop walking?!” as if it were her fault I ran into her. I quickly apologized, though, as I should have had my head forward or stopped my whole body to turn around. It was quite a funny experience, in hindsight. So was grabbing the cactus.

I digress. I would like to just share a few thoughts about the First Reading for today. It is about how God created man and how a serpent tempted man to sin. The serpent, we can see, went through man’s helpmate to not help man. I will relay some brief thoughts about how what I learned today connects with and can be interpreted through this reading:
  1. My eyes, at least twice today, were not directed where it would’ve been helpful to direct them. Why? Because I was not actually fully engaged with God in the present. I was thinking about “What if my children are doing this?”, or, “What if they’re not doing that?” I was so focused on what I thought they may or may not be doing – all hypotheticals, not actuality – that I missed seeing a cactus and a small child. Just completely missed them. One, I was injured by. The other, I could have injured (and thankfully didn’t)! Sometimes, we think our eyes are directed properly, but we’re actually missing what God wants us to see, which could be right in front of us. Eve directed her eyes to what appeared to be good, but it was not the greatest good in her environment. In fact, it was the one thing God had said would be bad for her. Jesus, direct my eyes to what is actually good, not what is merely hypothetical, made up, in my mind. Amen.

  2. I took the fruit! I mean, I grabbed a cactus – I guess it’s not technically a fruit – but, wow, I really grabbed that plant! With great gusto! What if I were to grab onto Jesus’ hand like that? Cling to Him with my whole being like that? How different would I live from moment to moment if I adhered to Him the way my fingers did those needles? Well, this symbol only goes so far, but I think you get my point (pun intended). Being intimately close with Jesus is the greatest gift on this side of heaven. And, being close also might mean we feel a bit of the weight of the cross He bore for us and the sting of the thorns He wore for us. But, it’s worth it.

  3. Because I thought I was in the right, that I was doing a good thing, I was ready to blame someone or something else for my actions! The cactus I wanted to accuse of being in the wrong place. Who had put that cactus there? I had put that cactus there! As I nursed my hand and didn’t know how to respond to my children yet, I realized that I had moved the cactus and I felt a little embarrassed. Wow. It had been my idea to put the cactus right behind where I would sit. I couldn’t blame anyone else. I can’t blame a cactus for being pokey – that’s part of its cactus-ness. But, I also could accept what happened and not blame myself for “unintelligently” moving the cactus there. Nah. I didn’t hurt myself intentionally. I offered the little suffering for my children and moved the cactus to the other corner of the sill. With the small child experience, I thought it was right of me to check on the line of children behind me. It was not ideal to do that while walking, though. Once I accepted my poor choice that had a somewhat good intention, I realized that in both instances, a feeling of pride had preceded the fall. Wow. There are no coincidences in Christ. The same had happened with Adam and Eve. Jesus, help me to grow in authentic humility so that I may learn from every situation in life and accept what is entrusted to me! Amen.

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Lent 2026: Ash Wednesday

February 18, 2026

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

This Lent, we will be sharing reflections by our Sisters on Ash Wednesday and each of the Sundays of Lent. Our hope is that the fruit of our Sisters’ prayer may bless you as we journey through Lent seeking greater intimacy with Jesus each of the forty days.

This reflection on the Ash Wednesday readings  is written by Sr. Katherine Joseph Marie Allensworth, HMSS .

An Outward Sign of an Interior Reality

I remember thinking on the first Ash Wednesday after receiving the white veil as a Novice, “what am I going to do if Father gets the ashes on my veil?”

After becoming a Novice, I was still learning the art of removing stains from my beautiful off-white habit and veil. The thought of getting black ashes out of the white veil was an intimidating prospect in those early days of stain removal training. Thanks be to God, no ashes got on the veil, but  I ended up touching my forehead without thinking and the ashes ended up on the habit.

“Repent and believe in the Gospel.” “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

These are the words we hear when we receive ashes today. What strikes me is that with the placing of the ashes, we are not called to an external change, but invited into a conversion of our hearts. Often during Lent, there is the emphasis on the external doing like fasting from food or other things like bad habits, giving our time and resources to those in need, and setting aside more intentional time to pray. All these external realities, including the ashes on our forehead, are supposed to flow from a conversion of our hearts that impels us to do these external things. We can always do more for the sake of loving God and neighbor. But, I think God wants more of us than just more of what we can do.

As I prayed with the readings for Mass today, I was struck by St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us”(2 Cor. 5:20). The ashes are the external sign of our ambassadorship; they mark us as people given to Christ. The ashes are a witness to Who we believe in. God is asking us to bring Him to a world in need of His love. Beyond receiving the ashes, I felt the Lord asking me in prayer, “Have you accepted the love My ambassadors are given?”

I have felt convicted that as I stand for Christ and live totally for Him, Lent can be a time of disciplining myself simply to receive His love for me in deeper places. To allow myself to be loved as I am today but loved by Him who wants me to be healed and brought into greater communion with Him. He wants to see those parts of my heart that are desperate for Him but are ashamed to come to Him. I think Lent is a time to be trained to know whatever happens around me or what I have done, my identity as Christ’s Beloved can never change. I am His! With that knowledge, I can go forth as He did; to proclaim the Good News, proclaim freedom to captives, heal the sick, and set the oppressed free (cf. Luke 4:18-19).

As I learned as a Novice to clean stains…if I am honest, I am still learning that art… I recognize there is always more “training” of my heart that God desires for me. As I try to keep my habits clean to reflect the beauty of the call to be consecrated to Him, I am asking to make my heart clean as well through the power of His love. My prayer is that as my heart continues to encounter the love of the One who called me, my witness to His love may shine forth.

I pray that this Lent may be a time for you to receive a new outpouring of His love in your life. May the God who has called you by name, chosen you for Himself, and loves you no matter what, fill you each day of these forty days with the knowledge that He wants all of you to be all for Him.

“Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.”
~Isaiah 43: 18-21

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Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2025

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

Merry Christmas! May the joy and peace of Christ be with you and your family. From all of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in the Immaculate Conception U.S. Region, we wish you a Merry Christmas! We would like to share with you a reflection written by Sr. Lourdes of the Holy Eucharist Furnells, HMSS on Luke 2: 1-7 to draw you deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation this Christmas. 

My dear one,
This world cannot recognize the Queen of the Universe, or her defender, or the child in her womb as the Son of God. The world sees only two poor travelers with child. In this inability to see, the world commends them to a manger worth less than all the rest. We will often be treated this way.
Rarely will the world recognize that you are royalty, and even more rarely, will they treat you as such. But we are not royalty as this world defines it. Instead we are royalty as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have revealed it. Her richness was not in being adorned with jewels and waited upon, no, her richness was in going wherever she needed and accepting whatever was given without complaint. The newborn King sought not the light of gold or the blare of trumpets, but the light of the stars and the ballad of the sheep and oxen. So let us learn from the Holy Family how to truly live our royalty by accepting whatever is given without complaint, with a humble heart and seeking not to be surrounded by what is beautiful, but making that around us beautiful by coming into it. And let us not expect the world to understand or see, rather never relinquish our dignity for the sake of the world’s acknowledgment.
My dear one, have you ever felt rejected and given less than you deserve? Know that the Holy Family too was rejected and given less than they deserved. But they did not let what they were given change them, but rather they changed it. Now, it is not a depiction of a palace that is enshrined in every Christian home, but the image of a manger with a Queen on her knees and a King in a trough with their defender standing by, beside the shepherds and sheep and oxen.

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O Antiphons

December 22, 2025

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

We pray that you are having a blessed last few days of Advent. Each year from December 17- 23, as part of Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, we sing the O Antiphons. These ancient Antiphons use themes from the Old Testament to show the foreshadowing of Jesus’ coming as Christmas nears.

This year, we would like to share with you videos of our Sisters chanting these antiphons as a way to be drawn into the ancient tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. To view the videos, please click on the dates below to listen to our Sisters chant each antiphon. We pray you may be drawn deeper into the tradition of the Church and pray, ‘Come Lord Jesus into my heart!’

December 17

O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!

December 18

O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!

December 19

O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!

December 20

O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!

December 21

O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

December 22

O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

December 23

O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

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